Mom & Son Die In Japan Pursuit

KOBE – A woman and her 5-year-old son were killed when their vehicle was hit by a police car at an intersection in Tanba, Hyogo Prefecture, on Sunday.

The woman, 34, was identified as Tamba resident Asami Yura. Her two sons — Kanta, 5, and Yuzen, 3 — were also in the car, but the younger one survived with only minor injuries.

Tanba police are questioning the driver of the police car, patrolman Shinnosuke Sakabe, 39, who faces charges of negligent driving resulting in injury and death.

Police sources say visibility was good when Sakabe entered the intersection on a green light. They also quoted the officer as saying he failed to avoid the car — which approached from the left — and that he struck its right side at around 12:25 p.m.